Lee Iacocca gave America the Ford Mustang and Chrysler minivan, and was celebrated for saving Chrysler from going out of business. Many magazines portrayed him as the avatar of the American Auto Age

The challenge of investing in electric, hybrid and autonomous vehicles while having to overhaul combustion engines to meet new clean-air rules, has forced Europe's carmakers to slash fixed costs and streamline their model portfolios.

Ford is making cuts in several markets to turn around loss-making operations and has also repeatedly warned the British government that it needs free trade to be maintained with the European Union after Brexit, the terms of which remain unclear.